Mikvah

To the uninitiated, a modern-daymikvah looks like a miniature swimming pool. In a religion rich with detail, beauty, and ornamentation — against the backdrop of the ancient Temple or even modern-day synagogues — themikvahis surprisingly nondescript, a humble structure.

Its ordinary appearance, however, belies its primary place in Jewish life and law. Themikvah offers the individual, the community, and the nation ofIsraelthe remarkable gift of purity and holiness. No other religious establishment, structure, or rite can affect the Jew in this

Immersion in themikvah has offered a gateway to purity ever since the creation of man. TheMidrashrelates that after being banished fromEden, Adam sat in a river that flowed from the garden. This was an integral part of histeshuvah(repentance) process, of his attempt at return to his original perfection.